BENGALURU: If you’re planning to travel out of the city next week, be prepared to face disruptions. The tussle between the government and transport corporation employees is continuing even after salaries were revised by 12.5 per cent.
Transport corporation employees have rejected the wage revision announced by the government, and the Joint Action Committee of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporations’ labour unions has called for an indefinite bus strike starting May 20.
Call for bus strike from May 20
- Strike by Joint Action Committee of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporations’ labour unions
- Transport unions reject the government’s 12.5 per cent wage revision
- Demand 25 per cent wage revision
- Unions insist that the 25 per cent wage revision should be effective from 1-1-2024
- Unions plan to disrupt the government’s Sadhanā Convention as well
- Transport employees to display black flags during the Sadhanā Convention in Tumakuru on May 19
- Night halt buses not to operate on May 19 itself
- Joint Action Committee calls for indefinite strike by halting buses from May 20
- Currently, the government has increased wages by 12.5 per cent from 2025
- Decision to continue indefinite strike until the government calls for talks again.
Reacting to this, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “We will pay the arrears of 26 months, and we will revise wages by 12.5 per cent, this is our government’s stand. We have communicated this to the transport employees”.
Responding to the transport employees’ strike issue on the day of the Sadhanā Convention in Tumakuru, he said it has now come to light that transport employees will go on strike. “I will speak when the time and situation arise. Earlier, wage revisions used to happen once every four years. The wage revision was due in 2020, but it didn’t happen then because of Covid”.
“On April 1, 2023, when Basavaraj Bommai was CM, a 15 per cent wage revision was done. Along with that, transport employees have demanded that it must happen every four years. This has been discussed many times. The previous government also gave a lot despite Covid hardships — we cannot deny that”, he said.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy also responded to the 20 per cent fare hike by private buses. “Those who have taken permits from us cannot increase fares. The decision must be taken in a committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner. It must be decided at the district level. All-India permit high-end buses do hike fares. These buses are not under our control. They have taken national-level permits”, he said.
Meanwhile, he clarified that there is no proposal to increase fares of government buses. Ramalinga Reddy urged the central government to provide diesel, gas, and petrol to people with subsidies. Responding to the petrol and diesel price hike, he said, “Earlier, when the UPA government was in power, the price was $130-140 per barrel and later, it dropped to $50-60. The Manmohan Singh government gave subsidies and supplied at lower rates. The Modi government has removed all subsidies. Subsidies on gas, petrol — everything has been removed. Crude oil prices had fallen, but consumers did not get the benefit of that”, he said.
